Garden designer Jay Sifford is highly sought after for creating magical, immersive and profound gardens, as his impressive list of clients and awards confirm. He was named North Carolina’s Most Outstanding Landscape Designer in 2021 by LuxLife Magazine and received the Perennial Plant Association Award of Merit in 2024 for his personal home garden in the mountains of western North Carolina. Jay will distill the wisdom—and secrets—he’s earned over his career and recount stories of creation, collaboration and inspiration. He will share his insights on rhythm, lines, shapes and light; the power of emotion and story; and how to create theater using scrims.

Speaker’s bio: Jay Sifford is a North Carolina-based garden designer, writer, speaker and podcast guest who believes great gardens are built on four cornerstones: art, magic, story and horticulture. He has had a long love affair with plants and approaches garden design from a psychological, philosophical and spiritual standpoint. He has been featured in Fine Gardening, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Gardens and in several books.